"The Epstein Scandal Deepens" The DOJ’s release of Maxwell’s audio creates more questions than answers. A scripted performance, redactions everywhere, and rising suspicion prove one thing: the full truth will never surface. Michael Cohen Aug 23 The Jeffrey Epstein scandal has always been less of a story and more of a black hole; an endless pull of secrets, half-truths, and whispers that consume everything in their orbit. Every new revelation doesn’t clarify; it clouds. Every new “disclosure” raises more questions than answers. And now, with the Department of Justice releasing audio recordings of Ghislaine Maxwell’s interview with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, the fog has only thickened. This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Notice what I said: audio recordings. Not video. Not the full picture. Just voices on tape. And in a case this radioactive, that choice matters. Why not release the video? Why not let the public see her body language, her eyes, her hesitations? Instead, we get the auditory equivalent of a shadow. That alone prompts the obvious question: was Maxwell reading from a prepared script? Was this carefully choreographed damage control dressed up as “transparency”? These are questions circling the tables around the country. Maxwell, serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking, told Blanche she never witnessed Donald Trump in “any inappropriate setting” and, notably, never saw him in a massage environment. I’ll admit; I believe that part to be true. Years back, Trump and I had conversations about massages. He insisted he’d never had one. I hadn’t either. For Trump, the idea of surrendering control, of lying still while someone else was in charge of the room, was unthinkable. So yes, when Maxwell says she never saw him in that context, it rings true to me. But that’s not the headline. The real headline is why Blanche himself; the number two at DOJ, was conducting this interview. As Senators Dick Durbin and Sheldon Whitehouse pointed out, it’s virtually unprecedented. That job typically belongs to line prosecutors who know the details of the case cold. Blanche’s involvement suggests something more delicate, more political, more stategic. Which begs the question: who wanted him in that room, and why? Maxwell, for her part, described Trump as “cordial,” “kind,” even a “gentleman.” Her words sound less like testimony and more like carefully chosen phrases aimed at neutralizing speculation. But instead of putting the matter to rest, the DOJ’s selective release has only ignited new fires. Democrats see a cover-up. MAGA Republicans, once certain that a mythical Epstein client list would expose the “deep state,” are now muttering that Trump himself is protecting elites. In the end, both sides walk away angrier, more suspicious, more certain that the truth is being buried. Meanwhile, Maxwell has been quietly moved to a minimum security facility in Texas. Victims and their families are outraged, and rightfully so. Trump brushed off the transfer as “not uncommon.” But when the most notorious woman in federal custody gets downgraded to lighter confinement while her interview tapes conveniently surface, coincidence starts looking a lot like orchestration. And let’s not forget that Maxwell is still appealing her conviction; petitioning the Supreme Court on the grounds that she was unlawfully prosecuted. Against that backdrop, the DOJ hands her a platform to deny Trump’s involvement in any misconduct. That’s not justice; it’s narrative management. Now, here’s the bottom line. This release didn’t settle anything. It didn’t give closure to victims. It didn’t reassure the public. It didn’t answer who knew what and when. Instead, it’s feeding more speculation, more conspiracy theories, and more distrust. By withholding the video, by redacting names, by giving us curated fragments instead of the full file, the DOJ ensured that the truth remains just out of reach. And that’s the tragedy of the Epstein case. At this release pace of information, we will likely never see the full, un-redacted file. We will never have the entire story. Too many powerful people have too much to lose. Instead, we’re left with staged interviews, selective transparency, and a justice system that seems more concerned with managing fallout than delivering truth. So yes; the Epstein plot thickens. Not because we’ve gotten closer to the truth, but because every move by the system pushes it further away. And the public, once again, is left staring into the void, wondering if the truth will ever be known. ________________________________________________________________________ PLEASE DON’T IGNORE THIS…I CAN’T DO THIS WITHOUT YOU! SUBSCRIBE. SHARE. RESTACK. Yeah, I know; you’re tired. This shit is exhausting. Guess what? Me too. But I’ve spent the last 8 years throwing punches in the dark so truth could get a little daylight. And now I’m asking you to step into the ring with me. Because if you’re still reading this, you already get it: This isn’t just a newsletter. It’s a rally cry. A war drum. A line in the sand. We are not passive observers of the downfall. We are the resistance. We call out the liars. We drag corruption by the collar into the sunlight. We say the quiet parts out loud; and we don’t flinch. But here’s the truth: I can’t do this solo. Not anymore. The storm is already here. We are standing in it. And it’s wearing stars and stripes like camouflage, preaching “freedom” while it sells fascism at retail. So let me ask you: Are. You. In? Because this is not a scroll-and-forget read. This is a living, breathing, fire-breathing movement; and movements don’t move unless you do. We need to be louder than spin, tougher than propaganda, and impossible to gaslight. That takes more than clicks. More than likes. It takes skin in the game. So if you believe truth matters; if you're sick of the bullshit, if you’re ready to stop screaming into the algorithm and start pushing back with purpose, this is your next step. HERE’S HOW YOU PUT YOUR FOOT ON THE GAS: Become a paid subscriber. Fund fearless, unfiltered journalism that hits back. Share this with the loudest people you know; the ones who never sit down and shut up. Build the community. Amplify the message. Be the damn megaphone. And yeah; Founding Members? The first 240 of you will get a signed, numbered, limited-edition Substack version of Revenge. That’s not just a collector’s item. That’s receipts. Proof you didn’t sit this one out. But let’s be clear: This isn’t about a book. It’s about backbone. It’s about calling out the gaslighters and refusing to be played. It’s about locking arms and saying, "Not. On. Our. Watch." You want to make a difference? Then make it; right now. Because if we don’t fight for truth, no one will. But if we fight together? They can’t drown us out. Let’s be so loud, they wish we were just angry tweets. Let’s be unshakable. Unignorable. Un-fucking-breakable. COMMENT: I thought based on earlier posts from you, Michael, and others that the money transactions with Russia were just as important, if not more important to Trump than the sex trafficking and harms to women. Sometimes it seems as Trump is succeeding by creating confusion and chaos. He has gotten the media and even those of us in Substack to diminish or ignore the money laundering for Russia. Trump's treasonous criminal behavior were well documented in the the Mar a Lago case with Jack Smith and in other cases.